Cheap Theatre for the Week of April 22, 2014
The winter that would never end is finally (hopefully) over! So why not put a little spring in your step with a little Cheap Theatre? This week, we’re focusing on a series of shows being put on by The Playwright Project. Each year, the Project chooses a playwright, and brings his or her works to different neighbourhoods in Toronto. This year, they’re taking over the Danforth with the plays of British playwright Caryl Churchill, whose work has been described as “subversive, controversial, and constantly pushing the limits of dramatic writing”. For as little as $10 a pop, you can’t go wrong with The Playwright Project.
Play Listings for the Week of April 21, 2014
By admin
Here is what’s going on in Toronto theatre this week. There are several great shows to catch for the week of April 14th, 2014. ** Shows marked with the double asterisks and in red are the ones that make Wayne, our Managing Editor, wish he could exist in multiple parallel universes so he could check them all out.
Review: Dinner with Goebbels (act2studio WORKS)
By Vance Brews
Three of history’s most notorious names in propaganda gather in Dinner with Goebbels at Toronto’s Red Sandcastle Theatre
Going into act2studio WORKS‘ production of Dinner With Goebbels I can’t deny I was nervous. Watching a play about Karl Rove, Joseph Goebbels and Edward Bernays having dinner together is a challenging and intriguing idea, but also one that requires some very careful navigation on behalf of the playwright to make sure it doesn’t dissolve into an uncomfortable caricature.
The good news is that for the most part the script is well written and fascinating, giving an hour long lesson on the art of propaganda and three of its most infamous practitioners that, on its own, shows that playwright Mark Leith knows his subject matter.
Review: Ralph + Lina (Ahuri Theatre), Death Married My Daughter (Play It Again Productions), Business As Usual (ZOU Theatre Company)
By Gian Verano
Celebrating innovative works from emerging local companies, The Theatre Centre in Toronto presents this triple bill
The Toronto theatre scene is amazingly robust and diverse. From minimalist slice-of-life pieces to over-the-top theatrical spectacles, our city plays host to a dazzling array of productions hailing from every slice of the population.
The Independent Creators Cooperative is a new collaboration initiative (supported by Why Not Theatre and Theatre Smith Gilmour) that seeks to promote plays from three of Toronto’s emerging theatre companies.
The result is a collection of three eclectic shows, presented in succession that explore a wide gamut of thought-provoking subject matter – making for a truly memorable night of top-class theatre.
The Problem of Hope: Damien Atkins Discusses Beatrice & Virgil (Factory Theatre)
By Mark Mann
Beatrice & Virgil tells an allegorical tale about the Holocaust premiering at Toronto’s Factory Theatre
Yann Martel, the beloved Canadian author of Life of Pi, had a hard time writing his third book, Beatrice & Virgil. At least, if the story is as autobiographical as it appears — it follows an author struggling to complete a new novel after the global success of his bestselling animal allegory … sound familiar? — then we can believe it was a difficult journey.
And no wonder: Beatrice & Virgil is an allegorical story about the Holocaust, once again involving animals. There are easier subjects, and safer ways to treat them. Theodor Adorno warned that writing poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric, and here we have a monkey and a donkey talking about genocide. It’s risky.
Ticket Contest Giveaway: The Memo
By admin
Mooney on Theatre is giving away a pair of tickets to a performance of The Memo at Unit 102 Theatre (376 Dufferin Street), on Sunday, April 27 at 7:30 pm.
To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets just send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “The Memo” by 11:00 pm on Thursday, April 24, 2014.
See below for details about the show and how the contest works:
Cheap Theatre for the Week of April 15, 2014
By admin
In this week’s episode of cheap theatre picks, we’re taking a look at human relationships – husbands and wives, parents and offspring, significant others, and best friends. Relationships gone awry, relationships rekindled, relationships….back from the dead! Watch the story unfold by grabbing a ticket or two for some incredible theatre this week, all for $20 or under. We guarantee, you won’t be disappointed! (Guarantee not an actual guarantee)
And for a bonus pick this week, we’ve thrown in a show you can experience for free. Yes, free! Happy theatre-ing!
Play Listings for the Week of April 14, 2014
By admin
Here is what’s going on in Toronto theatre this week. There are several great shows to catch for the week of April 14th, 2014. ** Shows marked with the double asterisks and in red are the ones that make Wayne, our Managing Editor, wishes he could exist in multiple parallel universes so he could check them all out.
Review: Shadows (Parry Riposte Productions / Videofag)
Shadows is a sexy, smoldering play about ill-fated love playing at Toronto’s Videofag
Everything in Shadows is on fire. The lovers burn for each other; their careers and relationships with others smolder, crackle, and occasionally burst into flames; and practically the entire world they inhabit–long, flowing costume gowns; dressing rooms with crepe-paper walls; a Connecticut cabin with a well-stocked wine cellar; and the ever-present newspapers–will immolate in mere seconds. All it would take is a single ill-aimed spark.
Margo MacDonald’s play is a love letter to so many things (these actors, repertory theatre, the fun to be had in secrets…) that this script could have run off in all directions, but luckily she’s found (with the help of a little creative license) two figures sufficiently interesting to bind them together. Eva La Gallienne, an actor so well-established and connected that she runs a theatre devoted essentially to her own whims; and her lover of 7 years, Josephine “Jo” Hutchison, playing juveniles and ingenues into her 30s, yet keenly aware that nothing of her world is permanent.
Review: Burn This (Sterling Studio Theatre)
Burn This takes a look at personal identity and relationships playing at Toronto’s Sterling Studio Theatre
Wednesday night was my second experience with Sterling Studio Theatre. I enjoyed their production of Specter so much that I was really looking forward to seeing their preview performance of Lanford Wilson’s play Burn This. An interesting space, I wondered what they would do with it this time.
Burn This begins shortly after the funeral of Robby, a gay dancer who drowned in a boating accident with his boyfriend. Set in a Manhattan loft shared by Robby’s roommates Anna; his dance partner and choreographer, and Larry; who works in advertising, Burn This is about reconsidering identity and relationships. Pale, Robby’s older brother, forces everyone to make sense of their lives when he bursts on the scene.